Thursday, February 22, 2007

I Do Love the Little Girl

Some folks have reminded me that I also have a wife and a new daughter.

Doss has been the focal point of the last few posts because he has needed the greatest number of positive thoughts from the largest group of people.

Jorja, on the other hand, has been getting a lot of personal attention directly from her parents.

Particularly her daddy.

And just to prove my point, I’ve slept a total of four hours this week; and last night was especially tough. Jorja wouldn’t take the boob and would cry inconsolably in 10 minute spurts. P.Pie wasn’t strong enough to hustle out of bed and pick Jorja up out of the bassinet.

So daddy would jump up off the fold-out couch, deliver her to mommy, and return to the couch, then do it in reverse when she wouldn’t eat.

The night nurse offered to take her to the nursery so we could catch a few winks. But what good is that? Handing my baby girl off to a caretaker doesn’t teach me how to fix the problem when it happens at home.

So we worked through it. We worked through it during the night and I went to work the next morning.

Hey, it’s what a daddy does.

So for those of you that thought of my daughter while also thinking of my son – thanks.

But you didn’t need to worry about her; I’m showing my love for her too.

She’s daddy’s little girl.

[ed. note: mommy and daughter worked on the boob thing while I was at work; they've gotten it down.]

The Doss Dossier

Just a quick update:

Someone pointed out that in the NICU, it can be one step forward and two steps back; but the doctors and nurses are all working to make your baby better.

Today we had what I think of as a step back – they had to intubate Doss. The liquids in his chest were making him work harder than necessary to breathe. On the plus side, the respirator takes the load off of breathing and allows him to work at what he needs to work at – getting better.

The NICU also gave him a diuretic to help him expel the built up liquids. And it worked! He urinated a few hours later, and then he did it again!

My hopes are bolstered and eyes well up when I think about it.The moment he was born, I said he was a fighter; now watch him prove it.